Percy, I mean Fred! I mean George? Whatever
by Artemis Brown
Summary: Christine is finally a prefect... With Percy as Head Boy, how could her life be MORE perfect? Well... that must mean it can only get more complicated. And Fred and George are happy to assist with that. Eventual Fred or George x OC.
1. I would NEVER cheat!

_**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Weasleys... unfortunately... But I do own Christine! Mine! I'm probably going to write lots of short chapters for this story. Sorry if you don't like the length... but if I'm not trying to hit a 3-4 page goal, I'm sure I'll pump out chapters faster. So DEAL. And ENJOY! Or I'm smack you... threatens with fist ON WITH THE STORY!**_

_**P.S. I know Percy was dating Penelope Clearwater in the books but... um... she died. The basilisk? It killed her. Yeah. That explains it, right? Right.**_

Aaaand done. One last look. Face? Not a blemish in sight. Eyes? Perfectly awake. Eyebrows? Symmetrical to the millimeter. Hair? Held back with a simple headband, and not a stray brunette strand in sight. I smoothed my robes one last time with my hands, hoping it would be enough, before adding the final touch. My shiny new prefect pin. Yes, this year would be different.

_No more snobby peers who think I don't have authority, no more sharing smelly bathrooms, and best of all…? No more—_

My thoughts were interrupted when a familiar voice sounded from the entrance to my train birth "Could you look any better?" I turned to see Percy Weasley. Percy, the example I have always tried to follow. Percy, the only one who seemed to have respect for the rules. Percy, who knew when things were getting out of hand. Percy, … Percy, my boyfriend of a year and a half.

"Percy…" On auto-pilot, I jogged across the prefect birth, and he hugged me tightly.

"I missed you, love…" After another moment in his arms, he grasped my shoulders and held me at arms length. "Let me look you over, you beautiful little fifth year." He looked me up and down and smiled. "My Christine is finally a prefect... I see you got rid of your glasses this summer." I nodded and blushed. "I like it. I can see your eyes better. I trust you're comfortable?"

I looked around at the huge train birth, complete with a sofa and table. I turned back to him. "No... Not at all..." He laughed and lightly kissed me on the lips. "But what about you? I mean... Head Boy! What a title! Your mum must be proud, eh?"

He smiled. "Didn't you see the new robes?" I grinned back. "Anyway, I didn't come just to see you... I came to tell you your new privileges." I rolled my eyes. "You are now allowed out of the common room until Midnight, rather than nine o'clock, you can use the prefect bathrooms whenever you like, you..." He kept droning on while I half-listened. I loved him to death, but I already knew this stuff... "…and that's basically it, but I'll walk you through some of the details later." He smiled again and sat down. I sat next to him. "So, how was your summer?" He asked before kissing my forehead.

"Well..." I thought. "It was great besides the fact I couldn't see you..." He smiled and leaned in to kiss me again. I smiled against his lips. "It was good... I got to go to France..."

"Why-was-that-love?" He asked between kisses.

I continued as he kissed my neck. "I went to visit my second cousin, Vincent." He stopped.

He pulled away and studied my face for a moment, hints of worry and jealousy all over. "_Second_ cousin?"

"Percy, I know what you're thinking... He's five..." He sighed with relief, and smiled again.

"Oh..." We laughed.

I sat up and faced him with a completely serious expression on my face. "Percy... I would NEVER cheat on you... Ever... All right?" He scratched his head.

"Sorry... I guess I was being silly... You're just really beautiful, I'm always afraid I'll lose you..." He put his arm around me. "I really care about you... And I know some pure blood familys like to have their kids marry cousins and the like..."

I snuggled up to him. "But I would flat out refuse, so I could keep being with you..."

He kissed me lightly again. "Would you ever trade me out for another guy?"

I looked at him for a moment, running my fingers through his curly hair lightly. "Not a chance..."


	2. Joke's on you!

Dinner and the sorting process went by normally, but a good deal of new students made it into Gryffindor, so Percy left it up to me to lead them to the common room. Everything was going smoothly. I remembered Percy leading my class to the common room… Pure mastery. Except for Fred and George's constant snippets of misinformation. I almost lost my way the second day of school because of them. They had changed though… they no longer cut into important discussions constantly, trying to confuse people. Now they shot rockets off in the hallways and caught things on fire. I never said they changed for the better...

Let me finish my thought from earlier… Now that I'm a prefect, _no more crap from Fred and George._ Now, my word will be taken over theirs, and I can give them detentions.

"Oi, Chris!"

_Do they have impeccable timing, or what?_

"I told you not to call me that…" I stood my ground firmly and proudly. I wasn't about to let them make a fool of me in front of all the new kids.

"So Chris…" George started, calling me by that _name_ again. "I was wondering if we could borrow some first years." I gaped at them.

"You must be joking... They haven't even had a full day of school yet!"

"Borrow us for what?" A first year called out from behind me.

_Bloody hell…_

Fred hunched over. "Well, to be honest, we need you to test some candy." I turned to see a bunch of smiling first years. To my horror, some seemed interested. Didn't they learn not to take candy from strangers? Worse still… from idiots?

My eyes widened. "No... Don't you dare..." The first years frowned at me, and of course, I had to defend myself... "These two trick first years into eating their joke-candy all the time." Behind me, Fred and George were shaking their heads, looking innocent. A particularly chubby kid pushed passed me and approached them.

George looked at him. "Want some candy?" The kid nodded, and George handed him a piece. He shoved it in his mouth, swallowed it, and turned around.

"There's nothing wrong with this candy!" All the kids glared at me again and pushed passed to get their hands on some. As I gawked at them eating it, Fred smiled at me.

"Joke's on you Chris!" He and George laughed. "They're plain old chocolate frogs!" I looked at them sternly. When the kids were done eating, I pushed passed them and led them the rest of the way to the common room.

_Those asses… make a fool of me, will they?_

Tears of embarrassment burned at the backs of my eyes, but I couldn't, _wouldn't_ let them fall on the first day in front of everyone. Especially not the first years.

After what seemed like forever, we all arrived at the portrait door. I briefly explained the purpose of the password, and we all entered. I counted heads as they ran past me. Fortunately I didn't lose any. I only had to look around briefly before catching sight of Percy, waiting for me near the couch. "So? How did it go?" He asked politely.

I wanted to tell him… I wanted to tell him that his brothers deliberately embarrassed in front of all the first years, obviously _trying_ to make me look like a fool… "Fine! I was a good little tour guide." But I didn't. Not the slightest idea of why, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him... We sat down on the couch in front of the fire, his arm automatically falling around my shoulder.

"That's good. Now, your room is at the back of the dormitory. There's a door that leads into the prefect rooms. They're bigger, and they have their own shower, but the prefect bathrooms are the only ones that have the huge baths." But I didn't catch most of this. I was busy staring at the Weasley twins who had just entered. They looked around casually like they had done nothing wrong, before finally approaching Lee Jordan. They spoke to him for a moment before glancing over at me and laughing a little. Jerks. But then something strange happened… Their gaze stayed on me. And then? One smiled, and the other winked. I blushed and turned around again, huddling closer to Percy.

What… was that?

"...work for the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the Ministry once I've graduated. What do you think?" I looked back at him.

"Huh?" I mumbled. So I was distracted... I had my reasons. He sighed.

"You weren't listening to a word I said... Were you?" I sheepishly shook my head. "I said I was thinking about going to work for the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the Ministry once I've graduated. Then I asked what you thought."

"Oh... I'm sorry... I think you'd be good for that, actually." I smiled, and he smiled back.

"You really think so?" He asked. I wrapped my arms around him.

"I think you'd be good at anything." I yawned, and he kissed my forehead.

"You should be getting to bed, love..." I rubbed my eyes.

"I can sleep here..." He smiled and stroked my hair.

He traced his fingers up and down my arm. "I only wish that were true, but I want to go sleep in my bed, and I'm sure you'd be more comfortable in yours." I sat up, and glared, shaking my head.

"What kind of a man are you?" I smiled, and gave him a hug again. He gave me a quick peck on the lips, and led me over to the stairs. He was too polite for his own good, really... I started to go up, but he pulled me into a tight hug. Clutching his neck, I looked over his shoulder to see Fred and George, still lurking about, casting glances my way… creepy…


	3. Why won't you SAY IT!

He was all over me… so unlike him. He was the brief kiss, hand holding type, so it was a bit of a surprise when he showed up out of nowhere to stoke my hair… pull me close… kiss _every aching inch _of me… Percy wasn't usually this passionate. It was too good to be true… Wait… It _was_ too good to be true. He opened his mouth to tell me the three words I longed to hear. But all that came out was the repetitive squawk of what I could only assume was the most annoying bird on Earth. I could only endure a second of it before I woke up, hair disheveled, and a wet spot from drooling. To top it off, a not so pleasant expression on my face. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and rest my head in my hands. "Why? Why oh why did it have to be a dream…?" Another silent moment passed, and I didn't move. "AAARRRGGGHHHH!"

When I finished my little outburst, I realized the squawking was still going. I finally turned my head to see a bird on my window sill. I wake-up call bird. What was this, the Flintstones? "Get out of here! Shoo!" I waved my hand at it a few times. It gave a little offended ruffle of its feathers before flapping away, leaving me to start my day.

After the dream, I was struck with some sort of determination to look better than I ever had before. Not for the fact that it was my first day as a prefect, but for _him_. I wanted to look good enough for him to finally be able to say "I love you". When you've been dating someone for over a year, you'd expect those words to have slipped, right? Not in this case… Percy liked to take it slow… _really_ slow. I practically had to attack him to get him to kiss me the first time. I smoothed my complexion as much as possible and moved on to my eyes. I wanted them to look brightened. Shiny.

But we were still together. As I brushed out my hair, I wondered for just a moment why it was that I was dating him… That question was easily answered. He was responsible, knew how to take charge, didn't tolerate any-

BOOM!

I was snapped away from my train of thought at the sound of a loud deep "boom" from the common room. There was a short pause before the muffled shouting of Percy was heard. _Probably something to do with the twins…_ I frowned, finished curling my eyelashes, and headed downstairs.

Just as I had thought, there was Fred and George, laughing their black sooty heads off while Percy was turning red just from yelling at them. "Percy?" Six eyes turned to me, only two belonging to the name I called. I was about to start talking, but paused momentarily to revel in the realization that my efforts had not been in vain. Six eyes had not only turned to look, but were now staring at me. Not _quite_ the result I was going for. After all, it wasn't to get _everyone's_ attention. Just the attention of the one I was dating. But it still felt good. "Is everything okay?"

He shot the twins one last dirty look before strutting over to me. "Everything is fine. Shall we go to breakfast?" He offered his arm which I took, happy with his reaction to my appearance. He stopped briefly by the twins. "Clean yourselves up before you come down…" He said the words sharply, with a grimace on his face, and then we started walking again. Out in the hallways, he looked me over as we walked. "Is it just me, or did you become more stunning overnight?" I slowed to a stop and smiled up at him.

"More like this morning. This is for you." I said the words earnestly. It was for him, right? It wasn't _completely_ my own selfish desire for him to pay more attention to me. In any case, my words had some effect. His ears turned a little pink, and he seemed to be at a loss for words. His mouth kept opening and closing as he struggled to find words. I gave him a hopeful stare, thinking that it would perhaps nudge him in the right direction. Those three simple little words…?

"Is it." He finally said, almost a little forced. "You didn't have to do that…" We started walking again, and he seemed a little calmer. "In fact, you shouldn't have. It'll attract unwanted attention." My jaw dropped. I was surprised it wasn't scraping against the ground. Was _this_ how he dealt with surprise? I wanted to say something so badly. I wanted to make some sort of snide comment, or… slap him, or _anything_. But I didn't. It was against my better judgment, and it was _certainly_ against prefect standards. So I bit my tongue and kept my mouth shut. Eventually, we reached the great hall and sat down. We ate in a bitter silence. Or at least I was bitter. I had put in so much effort to make him say something original, whether it be "I love you" or "I'm dating a babe" or _something_ other than the same old every day stuff. Not only did it not work, he was almost _mad at me_ for it. A gave a little sigh, which I suppose he took notice of because he started attempting to make small-talk.

"So… What classes do you have this year?"

I had to think for a moment. My schedule was lingering in my head somewhere… "I've got double potions, transfiguration, divination, history of magic, defense against the dark arts, and care for magical creatures." There was another short silence, which I chose to broke this time. "Care for magical creatures sounds really interesting too, although the book tried to eat my cat the other day..." He laughed at this and I scrunched my nose. "It's not that funny... Gwendolyn was terrified..." He continued laughing, and I couldn't help but to laugh too. Thank God. I was still a little bit upset, but I didn't want to stay mad at him. It would blow over…

The twins eventually sauntered into the Great Hall, now a great deal less sooty. I glanced at them and cocked a brow as if saying _"I'm watching you…"_ They eventually came to a stop right in front of me and caught the look. One smirked and rolled his eyes. The other locked gaze with me, as though challenging me.

And then they sat down right in front of Percy and I. This was some sort of test, I was sure. Percy looked up from his food, studying them, making sure they were clean. Once he was sure there was no trace of soot, he continued eating, apparently not quite as mad as he was before. "What are _your_ schedules this year, you two?"

Fred leaned over. "Well, they gave us the same schedule again..."

George leaned over with him. "It's a wonder they haven't learned better…" Fred laughed.

"We've got double potions, transfiguration, divination, history of magic, defense against the dark arts, and care for magical creatures... Not a bad schedule if I do say so myself... You know... Except for the part about double potions..." I went from calmly trying to ignore them to full on staring at them, wide-eyed with shock.

"Funny!" Started Percy. "Christine has the same schedule!" He _really_ seemed to think it was funny. He laughed about the irony, while I looked at my food and realized I wasn't hungry anymore… I stood up. "Is something the matter?"

I turned and looked at Percy again, avoiding eye contact with the twins. "I'm not very hungry... I'm going to go to potions early..."

I turned to leave, and heard George shout from behind me. "See you there, Chris!" I shuddered.


	4. Merlin's beard! You're dating PERCY!

I walked into my first period, potions, to see Professor Snape at his desk. If it wasn't the first day, I would have assumed he was grading papers. How one could already have work to do on the first day was beyond me. He looked up as I entered. "Ms. Thompson… Beginning the year by sucking up, are we?" He raised a thin eyebrow, and I copied the motion right back at him.

"Actually sir, I wanted to get some reading done before class…" He stared at me coldly, motioned for me to sit, and continued on with his work. I walked over, took a seat in the middle of the room, and took out "Dragons Around the World". I'd barely started to read when Fred and George wandered in. I clenched my teeth and continued reading, until they sat down behind me. It was all fine, until Fred began speaking.

"See Professor? Look at what a wonderful student Christine is! She's come in, what, ten minutes early? I say you award Gryffindor AT LEAST ten points!" He looked at George, and they nodded in agreement.

George leaned forward a little. "And she may even be willing to perform a few favors for you to brighten up your dreary life! She's sure brightened up Percy's!" My face turned bright red. I spun around and threw my book at him.

Snape looked up. "Ten points FROM Gryffindor for disrupting my classroom, and that will be quite enough from you three." He went back to his work, and a look of obvious shock spread across my face. _10 points? _It had to have been a record. For me anyway. I couldn't remember the last time I had gotten points taken away. I glared daggers at the twins.

"I hope you're happy." This only seemed to amuse them, as they started making bad attempts at stifling their laughter. I was about to fight back, but students started filing into the classroom, so I sat down and waited for my friend Maudie to show up.

Once she showed up, I motioned for her to sit next to me. I needed someone familiar around if Fred and George were going to be sitting behind me all year… The chair Snape had been in scraped against the ground as he stood, and everyone fell silent.

"The phoenix. It has many magical properties to it. Feathers for wands, ashes for headaches, but the tears, they heal. And that's what we will cover today. Healing potions." I was obediently taking notes, when I heard Fred and George laughing behind me. I paused, and kept taking notes. "...mandrake root, phoenix tears, eye of rat..." The laughing started again. Snape paused, looked at them, and went back to his lesson. I was just about to start writing again, when a note landed in front of me. I unfolded the paper...

_Want to skip dinner to hang out with us? -Fred_

I thought about this for a moment. Hmm… Let me see… who was it in this school that I don't like? Oh yeah!

No.

I passed it back, assuming that would be the end of it, but to my dismay, the same note beaned me in the head again, more writing on it.

_Why not? It'll be fun!_

_I said no! Leave me alone!_

_C'mon! We'll have some laughs, share some jokes, have a threesome…_

I grimaced.

_May I remind you that I'm going out with your brother? And a threesome with BOTH of you? Doesn't that gross you out?_

_It was a joke._

_What's WRONG with you?_

_The REAL question here is, what's wrong with YOU?_

_I have no idea what you're talking about_

_Merlin's beard! You're dating Percy! Blimey, you don't even listen to him half the time!_

I wrote furiously, my quill scratching loudly against the paper.

_So? He cares about me! Why am I even talking to you? You're just a couple of no good GITS who get their jollies harassing people who actually want to get good grades and find a good job! Not that you would understand, since you never study anyway! You two are such-_

I stopped writing when I noticed the silence. I looked to the front of the class to see the Professor staring at me. "Another 10 points." He went back to his lecture.

I turned to look the twins in their eyes, not breaking my gaze as I tore up the note. I dropped the scraps on the floor, and turned to face front again, in a very final manner. But that never does seem to be enough to stop them.


	5. We'll change your mind

The rest of the day was hell... The twins WOULD NOT leave me ALONE. In transfiguration, they figured out how to change their animals into roses... That explode after two minutes... In divination, there was an odd number of students, so I was stuck with them for the rest of the year. In history of magic, they kept making snoring noises, and they were, once again, sitting right behinds me, distracting me the most. In defense against the dark arts, professor Lupin taught us about dueling, and he made me face Fred, who immediately caught my robe on fire. And in care for magical creatures, they constantly volunteered me to try different dangerous tasks. Finally, it was dinner time. I drug my feet into the great hall and sat next to Percy. He turned to me and kissed me on the cheek. "Hullo, love. How was your first day?" I grunted. "That bad, eh?"

I was totally prepared to tell him about the twins, but again, I couldn't bring myself to do it. "The classes are just really hard..." I'm such a liar. He hugged me and patted me on the back.

He looked around. "Huh... Fred and George aren't here..." I looked up and down the table and realized that in fact, they weren't. "Good thing too..." I looked back at Percy. "I've been meaning to talk to you." He started to fiddle with his napkin, and his ears started to turn a little red.

"About what?" I asked. This just made him turn a deeper shade.

"Well... A-About... um... Marriage... I-I-I'm not proposing or anything, but... I would like to marry you when you've finished with seventh year... I-I wouldn't mind waiting that long, and if we're still together... I think it would be a good idea..." Though he was incredibly cute the way he kept stuttering and the such, this came as quite a bit of a shock. He hadn't even been able to say the L word. Why was this all coming out now?

"Well..." I looked to the side. "Could I think about it and see how everything turns out? Maybe talk about it more during my seventh year? I've got to go..." He looked away. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Percy... I'm not mad at you at all... It was just surprising, and I need some time to think..." He turned, with a hopeful look in his eyes. He pulled me into a hug and kissed me. He held onto my hand, and I let it slip away as I walked out of the great hall.

Right as I went through the doors, I was met face to face to... er... face with Fred and George. They immediately smiled. "We knew you'd come!" shouted Fred happily.

I sighed deeply. "I didn't come for you guys... I needed to think..." Their faces fell.

George started in. "Good lord... Now the bloke's gone and done it... He proposed, didn't he?" I stared at him.

"How did you know?" I stared at him in bewilderment.

Fred took over. "Well he's seemed especially jittery these past few days, and the last time he was like that was just before he asked you to the Yule Ball."

George looked at Fred. "So we figured he was about to do something crazy."

"Or terribly stupid."

"Our other guess was that he was going to reveal some disturbing fetish." I slumped against the wall. They exchanged glances and walked over to me. Suddenly, I was being lifted up by the both of them and carried away.

"Hey! What the hell? Put me down you bloody gits!" But they kept marching out and we finally stopped at the lake. They eased me down gently and faced me. "Why did you bring me out here? It's after hours!"

"Listen..." Fred started. "Don't marry Percy... That bloke will only cause you grief..."

I glared. "Why? He's a gentleman! Sure, he's kind of dull at time, but he's nice, and he takes care of me!"

"Haven't you noticed how he's slowly changing into a big prat? He's slowly taking less interest in you, and more in himself! Besides, unless you cherish every moment with him, he's just not worth the trouble." George finished.

I stared at him. "I'm going back to the castle... I don't have time for this..." I started walking away from them, when Fred called after me.

"Bloody hell, Chris! Even we care more about you than him!" I turned and glared a death glare at him.

I began to approach him. "Don't EVER say that to me again... all you two ever do is torture me, and try to make my life difficult. The last thing I need is is either of you presuming to care for me more than someone who actually appreciates me." I turned and walked away again when he yelled after me a second time.

"Chris!" I turned around. "We'll get you to change your mind..." I rolled my eyes and kept walking. Only god knows how they'll do that...


	6. This definitely isn't Percy

I woke up the next morning, tired and sore from tossing and turning all night. The whole time, I was thinking about the twins and wondering what they were planning. I stretched my arms and slid out of bed. I slipped my uniform on, brushed my hair, didn't bother to put on make-up, and went downstairs. Percy was waiting, as usual, we went to breakfast with him, as usual, and I went to class, once again, as usual.

Class was normal today. Maudie made me test the potion. (Luckily, I managed to concentrate, even with the twins around.) It went okay, I didn't end up with a huge nose, or inside out skin or anything. After class, the twins left surprisingly fast. I shrugged it off, and continued to my next class. On the way, a hand reached out from behind a wall hanging and dragged me on into a small alcove-like area that was about a square meter in floor space. I couldn't see much, but I could make out a vague face shape. "Percy?" I asked, even though the hair was definitely different. Whoever it was, they grabbed my shoulders and pressed their lips to mine.

This definitely isn't Percy...

I had a strange thought. Was this what I'd been missing this passed year or so? Percy had never kissed me with so much heat and passion. Sure, we'd cuddled all the time, but nothing like this. I wasn't sure how long he had his lips on me, but the moment I snapped back to reality, I pushed him away and darted out.

I ran into transfiguration, blushing madly, and sat down. A little later, Fred and George walked in and sat down. I looked at them. Fred was laughing and George was scratching his head. Fred stopped and started asking him something that I couldn't hear. Professor McGonagall snapped me out of it when she asked "Ms. Thompson, are you running a temperature? You're bright red." I looked up at her and shook my head. Nothing out of the ordinary happened during class, but Fred kept looking at me and George seemed to look everywhere BUT at me.

During divination, Professor Trelawny was reading everyone's tea leaves, and occasionally, she would double-check their palm. Finally, she stopped at our table. I smiled. Sitting between Fred and George and listening to their conversations was driving me crazy, especially when they tried to include me in them when (being a prefect) I was against half of it. (They kept asking me things like "What should we develop next? Canary creams, or should we start on our fake sickness candy boxes?" or "Hey! You know what we should do to Filch? ...What do you think Chris?") Professor Trelawny bent over and picked up George's tea cup and gazed into it. "I see much mischief in your future... and perhaps a slight complication coming soon..." He smiled at her, and she took up Fred's cup. "Yours is quite similar, dear, only I see a bit more mischief... I see you also have a confused soul, but the reason has yet to be explained." Then she took mine in her hand, and gazed into it deeply. She looked a little concerned, and she took up my hand. "Goodness dear, I see a very sudden change of heart... You will break the hearts of several, but it will straighten out someday... When, I cannot say, but I wish you luck." She smiled and patted my hand before moving to the next group, leaving me awestruck and confused. I looked at my tea leaves curiously, and Fred and George both looked over my shoulders. Sure enough, I saw a shattered heart in the bottom of my cup.


	7. He doesn't have to know

**A/N: In the spirit of DH coming out, I'm continuing this story. I'd like to rewrite the first few chapters, but we'll see what happens. I'm going to continue to put out short chapters though. Less stress, and I'll be feeling less of an obligation to write 6 or 7 pages at a time. Please review. Enjoy!**

Finally, the end of care of magical creatures came, along with it, a note delivered by an owl, Percy's to be exact. The letters were large and curly, like some sort of medieval proclamation.

_Christine,_

_I care about you much more than you know. My heart races whenever I see your face, and I feel as though I might faint. Please meet me behind the wall hanging in the fourth_

_floor corridor tonight at midnight. You know the one. You may feel you know me, but you may have a shock when you come to me._

_~Someone you know_

_P.S. Do not speak of this at dinner._

I folded the paper neatly, put it away in my pocket and marched back to the castle for dinner. On arrival, I met with Percy who escorted me to a seat at the table. Through dinner, I ate happily and managed to listen to Percy's plan about what to do after he graduates. We walked each other to the common room, where we did our homework. Towards midnight, I was constantly glancing at Percy waiting to see him get up to leave for the wall hanging, but he never budged. This, of course, sparked my curiosity. I stood up to go, looking back at Percy, expecting him to ask me where I was going, but he was too absorbed in applications of different sorts to notice me. I sighed sadly, and walked out to get to the wall hanging on time.

* * *

I was worried about being caught by a teacher wondering why I'm out so late and NOT going to the common room, but luckily I never was. I approached the wall hanging nervously, reached over and pulled it open. I looked in, and gasped. A hand shot over my mouth to silence me. "SHH! Stay quiet. You want to ruin all the fun?"

I looked at him angrily. "Fred? It's YOU?" I let it out in a forced whisper. Despite my distaste for the twins, I didn't want to get them in trouble on purpose.

He sighed impatiently. "I'm George!" He stepped out from behind the wall hanging.

My brow furrowed. "Whatever! Why did you write me with Percy's owl? To throw me off?"

He snorted incredulously. "What, do you think I'm made of money? I would have sent Errol, but Hermes has the benefit of not looking like he's on death's doorstep."

"Anyway, we can't be out here right now." It was then that I remembered the content of the note. "And why would you write out that big garish letter with the swirly writing? What is this, some kind of prank?"

"Well uh..." He looked down and twiddled his fingers, before finally drawing his gaze back to me. "I actually do fancy you, you see..."

"Was that you this morning then?" He nodded slowly. "But Percy... He's your brother..." I swallowed hard. "Don't you feel like you're betraying him?"

George took my hand in his. "He doesn't have to know... No one does..."

I wrestled my fingers from his grasp. "You don't like me, you've been awful to me. I don't want anything to do with you, or you're stupid games." I was about to turn away, but he grabbed me by my shoulders. I recognized the grip. "That was definitely you this morning."

He shook his head and smiled. "Chris, I'm awful to you _because_ I like you." Our eyes locked, and I saw the sincerity.

A meow echoed on the walls, and both of us snapped our head to the side to look. "Wha' is it, Mrs. Norris? Some students out of bed tonight?" Filch's gravelly voice seemed nearby, and we could see light getting brighter as he got closer to rounding the corner. George grabbed my hand and pulled me into the alcove.

His arms wrapped tightly around my waist from behind, keeping me still. My heart was beating a million times a minute, and I could feel George's against my back. We listened to the thumps of Filch's shoes as he got closer. He stopped for a moment by the entrance. The moment seemed to go on forever, but then he kept walking. As the steps grew further away, George let himself chuckle. I tilted my head to look at him, an expression of bewilderment spread across my face. "How could you possibly be laughing at a time like this?" I whispered.

"How could I not?" He grinned. "How could he not check here? He stopped right in front of us and everything." He tried to stifle his laughter. I cracked a smile at this. "So you DO find it funny." He whispered.

"No. I find you crazy." We laughed together for a moment, and he wrapped his arms around me into a hug as it died down.

"Chris, do you know why I like you?" I looked up at him and cocked a brow. "You're a prefect. I'm out past midnight, Filch just walked by, and you didn't say a word. You're a very loyal person, and I appreciate that." He kissed my forehead. I'd never thought of the twins as well spoken or gentle, but I hadn't really given myself the chance to see that side of either of them. I blushed.

"Is that really why?" He angled his lips toward mine, and my heart started pounding again. They moved in a whisper as he spoke.

"Well, it's mostly because you're very shagable..." I punched his arm and he laughed. I was about to do it again, but he caught my wrist and pinned me to the wall. My sight had adjusted to the dark, and I could see his eyes staring straight into mine with a sort of wild, playful look. I tried pushing him away with my free hand, but he caught that wrist too. He was now mere inches away from me. My heart felt like it was pounding up into my throat. I felt out of breath, and then it happened. His lips tenderly touched mine, and I found myself unable to resist. In fact, I felt like I was melting into a puddle. I was glad he had a hold of me.


	8. I won't let you be alone

After that night, the alcove behind the tapestry became our spot. We would inconspicuously pass notes during classes to arrange meeting times, which usually ended up being as soon as possible. In transfiguration, he liked to take hold of my hand under the table when no one was looking. Sometimes, it was hard to act like nothing had happened between us, and treat him the way I had in the years leading up to this one, but I always forgot about it once we met in that alcove.

Whenever we had to part, whether for classes, or dinner, I could tell he wanted more. Not just more of the same, but more from me emotionally. I had feelings for him. But I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I wasn't ready to admit that to Percy. George and I always parted ways for meals. I sat with Percy, he sat with Fred, and we usually ate without saying anything to each other.

A few weeks of this arrangement passed, and George was clearly beginning to get agitated. When we had first started our secret meetings, he eased up on the teasing. He even told Fred to back off at times (which Fred read completely correctly as a crush, and would turn his teasing to his own brother.) But as time wore on, he started up again. First, it was subtle jabs. More of the lewd comments they liked to throw around during potions class. "Ask Chris what to do with murtlap testicles. I'm sure she could think of a few things." It escalated until one day, in Divination, I asked him who should go first with the crystal ball. "Why don't you decide? You seem to be quite good at _leading _people, Chris-TINE." He said this in a rather biting tone. Even Fred seemed a little surprised and confused. It hurt. It mostly hurt coming from someone I cared about. For once, I didn't think about my grades. I stood up and left, going straight back to the dormitory.

I stayed put through lunch, and finally decided I had to go to dinner. Really, I hadn't been fair to George. Even with that understanding, I ended up seated next to Percy at dinner. The moment he saw me, his eyes filled with concern. "Christine, are you alright?" I turned to face him and looked past him to the twins as he spoke. George looked as miserable as I felt. "I was told you left class early today, I was worried." My gaze finally turned back to Percy.

"I just... didn't feel well." After a moment, he reached over and took my hand, and slowly slid his fingers between mine. He stared into my eyes seriously.

"Christine... I'm so sorry I haven't been making time for you lately. I can't help but feel as though I've been neglecting you." I began to shake my head, but he continued on. "I want to make it up to you. I've made time for a few hours tomorrow after dinner. Maybe we could go take a walk by the lake? Whatever you like."

I nodded in a daze. I didn't care for Percy like I had before, but there was no way I was going to tell him that in front of the whole house during dinner. Despite my unenthusiastic reaction, he beamed at me. "Truth be told, I was afraid I was losing you." he laughed in a relieved sort of way. I hadn't eaten since that morning, but I realized I'd lost my appetite completely.

"I'm going to go back to the common room. I'm still queasy, and looking at all this food is making me feel a bit ill." Percy stood when I did.

"Are you sure you shouldn't see Madame Pomfrey?" He asked.

I shook my head quickly. "I just need rest. It's stress, that's all." I saw George out of the corner of my eye. He looked even more concerned than Percy. He noticed me glancing his way, and quickly turned his gaze back to his still full plate, his nose and cheeks tingeing red. Fred was staring at me curiously. Percy offered to walk me back, but I shook my head. "I'll be fine." I turned and left the Great Hall, feeling worse than ever.

* * *

For once, I was glad to be a prefect. I was glad to have a room to myself to lie back and not need to worry about roommates pestering me about their homework, or asking me what's wrong. I let my eyes close and my mind drift. Percy had been really sweet earlier, and on the surface, he was everything I wanted. Smart, good grades, great opportunities… But George… George made me feel something that I just didn't get with Percy. He made me feel alive, and wanted. Needed, even. But he was getting testy.

As I was thinking, I heard my doorknob turn. I sat up, and George walked in. (At least I assumed it was George.) He still looked miserable, and he sat down on my bed. "I shouldn't have said that today in class." I wanted to yell at him, or say something harsh right back, but I recognized this as a start to an apology, so I tried to keep it light.

"No. You shouldn't have." He turned to me at this, a brave look in his eye.

"Chris, I don't want us to be some secret. I really like you, and I know you fancy me more than Percy." This was very blunt, but I was starting to realize it was true.

"I know…"

"Then why are you still with him?"

I paused at this. Why _was_ I still with him? What was I waiting for? "I guess I'm a little scared." He quirked a brow, so I elaborated. "Percy's the only boyfriend I've ever had. Leaving him for you is a bit of a risk." He laughed.

"A RISK?" He took my hand, still smiling. "You can't possibly mean to tell me that you'd rather stay with Percy forever."

"No!" He laughed again. "Anyway, Percy's really sweet sometimes, so you should lay off." I just kept a hold on his hand for a silent moment. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn't bring myself to meet them. "It's still scary though. I could leave him for you, and then you might leave me. Then I'll be alone." George reached over to cup my cheek, drawing my eyes to him.

"I won't let you be alone."

I smiled warmly, and placed my hand over his. Just those words made me feel rejuvenated. He led my lips to his and kissed me. It had the same gentleness I had been missing the past few weeks, and I was relieved. I broke the kiss. "Okay, I'll dump Percy. I'm supposed to meet with him tomorrow anyway." He didn't even warrant that with a response, other than kissing me more excitedly. I felt like we were a pair again, and I smiled against his lips.


End file.
